Time For Something New!

These trendy pork belly sliders with a spicy Asian twist take a little more time, but are totally worth it!

Lately, many restaurants have been featuring dishes made with pork belly. Well, did you know you could make it at home? It’s simple to make, low cost and super flavourful.

What is pork belly? Well, just that, the boneless fatty meat of the belly. Pork belly has been popular in Asian cuisine for ages, but it’s now being introduced into North America through creative chefs and adventurous home cooks.

Think of pork belly as just a huge slab of uncured bacon. Once we slow-roast it, pork belly becomes sweet with caramelized sugars and salty and spicy from the rub. It’s so soft and totally rich from the slow cooking and rendered fat, but it’s also crispy and a bit exotic.

There are lots of things you can do with your finished pork belly. Besides slicing or dicing to eat as a roast, it can be shredded to make the most awesome taco filling you have ever tasted. This delicious shredded filling is also used in steamed buns, or as a sandwich filling. It’s also fine to stash the whole cooked pork belly in the refrigerator, as we did, and when you’re ready to eat it, cut off some thick slices, toss them into a hot pan and assemble some incredible sliders. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Pork Belly Roast

1.5 lb skinless pork belly

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Spicy Asian Glaze

6 Tbsp Hoisin sauce

3 Tbsp sodium-reduced soy sauce

2 tsp Sriracha sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp rice vinegar

Sweet & Sour Slaw

1/2 cup green apple, julienned

1/2 cup carrot, julienned

1/4 cup red onion, julienned

1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp black sesame seeds

1/2 tsp sugar

8 -10 slider buns

Cooking Instructions

To Make Pork Belly

Preheat oven to 450˚F.

Score the fat cap in criss-cross sections through the fat but not into the meat. In a small dish mix sugar, salt and pepper. Rub into criss-crossed fat and sides of roast.

Place in a roasting pan fat side up and roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn temperature down to 275˚F and continue roasting for 1.5 hours.

Lori Kennedy is the publisher of EatInEatOut™ MAGAZINE. She also does all the cooking, writing and photography for EatInEatOut™ THE BLOG. She believes in quick, easy, (mostly) healthy recipes using everyday ingredients that are ready in 30 minutes. Oh… plus the occasional decadent dessert!